I know that beets and salad aren’t the most exciting thing ever. Which is why I had to come up with a way to make it more fun! This is a recipe for a roasted beet salad, with candied nuts, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and a honey Dijon salad dressing. It’s really something special: roasted beets tossed in honey, toasted and candied walnuts, and a homemade dressing. Plus some additions that I love in a salad: goat cheese and dried cranberries. It’s a balance of earthy flavors, with some sweetness and crunch.

Things to know about this recipe, before you make it!

This roasted beet salad recipe has some great techniques and elements that you can easily transfer to other dishes or salads, so take these methods- and run with them!

Some examples: if you’re not crazy about beets, or its fall, try roasting sweet potatoes for this salad! Even butternut squash would be delicious too. When roasting, just be sure that whatever you choose, it is roasted until soft enough to be pierced with a fork, but no further. You don’t want mush in your salad!

Toasted, candied nuts are not only delicious to snack on, they are also relatively easy to make! These nuts add the best crunchy-and-sweet element to any salad you add them to, really taking it to the next-level. I really encourage you to try making them yourself. If you like a heavier candy on your candied nuts, add some more sugar, or some maple syrup! Just be sure to spread them out onto some parchment in a single layer when you take them off the heat, otherwise you will end up with a clump of sugary nuts.

The last thing I will point out about this recipe, and a technique you can use with other dishes and salads is a homemade dressing. It is SO easy to make salad dressings, and what’s better than making something that is customized perfectly for your own tastes? The basic building blocks of a homemade salad dressing is balancing fat, acid, seasoning, and something fun.

• For fat: olive oil, vegetable oil, mayo.
• Acid, choose from: lemon juice (my fave), vinegar, the pickling liquid from something in a jar.
• Seasoning: definitely something salty, something briny, soy sauce, anchovy, mustards
• Something fun, like fresh herbs, dried herbs, something from the spice cabinet, a hit of sweetness

I would start with equal parts of fat and acid, then play with balancing out the taste with the seasoning. Add something fun to push the dressing the direction you want to go. In this case, I wanted something sweetened but also packed a little punch from the acid. So I went with honey for fun, and combined lemon juice and red wine vinegar for my acid.

Now for the recipe:

Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese Salad, Honey Dijon Dressing

This salad makes the best out of a couple beets! Roasted beets are an excellent addition to a salad, and when they are tossed in honey, they add a perfect hit of sweetness that makes this salad actually addictive. This recipe will also have you candy some walnuts, which is an easy skill to learn that has a huge reward. Once you do it once, suddenly you’ll be adding candied nuts to everything. The salad dressing included in this recipe is also another thing that is good on everything.

Author: Claire Jaspers

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

0 Add to Favorites

Cook Time 50 mins Total Time 50 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Servings

For the salad and toppings

• 2 red beets
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ¹⁄₂ tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• ¹⁄₂ cup walnuts
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• ¹⁄₄ cup dried cranberries
• ¹⁄₄ cup chopped parsley
• mixed greens

For the dressing:

• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ¹⁄₂ tsp oregano
• pinch of salt
• crack of pepper

Instructions:

Roast the beets:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

2. After washing the beets, cut off the tops and bottoms and discard. Dice the beets into half-inch cubes.

3. Toss the cubed beets in olive oil, salt, and onion powder.

4. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Toss halfway through roasting. Remove from oven when softened, and can be easily pierced with a fork.

5. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Add to a bowl and toss with honey. Refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the salad.

Toast and candy the walnuts:

1. Add walnuts to a pan, and begin to heat over medium heat to start toasting the nuts.

2. Continue lightly toasting the nuts, tossing often. Turn down the heat if they start to darken quickly. 

3. When the nuts have turned just a shade darker, move the nuts to the outside of the pan. In the center, sprinkle the sugar and a pinch of salt. As the sugar heats up, it will begin to melt. At that point, toss the nuts in the carmel mixture using a rubber spatula.

4. When the nuts are evenly coated, spread the nuts onto a piece of parchment paper to let cool. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the salad.

Mix the dressing:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing in a mason jar, and shake vigorously to combine. 

Assemble the salad!

1. To a large serving bowl, add the mixed greens or lettuce of your choice. Add in the roasted beets, candied nuts, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and chopped parsley. Top the salad with the dressing, and toss. Enjoy!

Note

This salad is delicious with grilled or blackened chicken!

Keywords: salad, beets, goat cheese, spring salad

1. […] I wrote this recipe for a Snack Series, featured on my Instagram page, in preparation for the 2021 NFL Super Bowl!…

• 
  Kitchen Renovation of 2022: Design PlanningSeptember 9, 2023
• 
  Shrimpy Beans and Olives RecipeAugust 12, 2023
• 
  The Kitchen Renovation Saga of 2022July 15, 2023
• 
  Claire’s Table Green Herb Chimichurri RecipeMay 1, 2023
• 
  Roasted Beet Salad, with Honey Dijon Dressing RecipeApril 15, 2023
• 
  Bánh Mì-style Pork Sandwich RecipeMarch 19, 2023